A Discouraged Preacher

Pastor Jerry Thrower

From time to time, in spite of God’s Word, promises, familiar surroundings and family hugs & kisses, God’s men get discouraged. Most people never give any consideration to the fact that the chief encourager of the church family needs encouragement from time to time. It is important to show your man of God that you love and appreciation him. For the man of God, during discouraging circumstances, it is a serious time of self examination. It is a time to… practice what you preach!

John The Baptist

One New Testament example of a leather lunged preacher of God’s Word, who faced major discouragement, is that of John The Baptist. He had a relatively short earthly ministry, but how great an impact he left in his wake! Recently I came across an audio sermon on the subject of discouragement which considered this great Bible character by Pastor Jerry Thrower (Pictured Above).

An Audio Sermon By Jerry Thrower

Pastor Thrower is a member of this website (Become A Member) and been a faithful supporter of our ministry for quite some time now. I know that this message will help you as it did me!

CLICK HERE to listen to the sermon entitled, “A DISCOURAGED PREACHER!”

Contact Information For Pastor Jerry Thrower:

Central Baptist Church
942 Oak Lane
Orange Park, FL 32065-7310

904-276-9099
Website: www.centralbaptist-op-fl.org

More Audio Sermons By Pastor Thrower…

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A21: All God"s Comfort All God’s Comfort

By Herbert Lockyer / Hendrickson Publishers

The classic “All Series” books have graced the shelves of pastors, students, and laypeople alike for decades. All God’s Comfort continues the series’ tradition of offering a faithful and comprehensive treatment of biblical subjects. All God’s Comfort explores the divine work of comforting those who suffer the effects of this fallen world. “In our complex lives today, the need to know God’s comfort is more necessary than ever,” states the Preface. After studying the God of comfort and exploring His promises, Lockyer applies these truths systematically to the common valleys of human grief and fear. Wth an approach that is pastoral and practical, Lockyer uses Scripture and the writings of scholars, poets, and hymnists to encourage those who need comforting. He also provides guidance to those who seek to become comforters and describes the individual and community benefits of doing so. Grieving people and those who care about them will find Lockyer’s book an insightful guide to availing oneself of God’s comfort.

Forgiveness

This sermon outline addresses the subject of forgiveness. When the worldly mantra shouts “Sue them!”, the Christian should say, “Forgive them!” Every child of God needs to inventory their souls as to how they forgive others. After all, Christ forgave them!

Title: “Forgiveness!”

Text: Ephesians 4:32

(Ephesians 4:32) “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”  (KJV)

Introduction:

•    Forgiveness is something we all want, yet we give out very little of it.
•    It is a lot like money – We want all we can get and give away only what will bring us the most satisfaction.
•    Forgiving someone else is a sign that one has love for that person. It is also a sign that one is a Christian or, in the very least, they are ACTING like a Christian – for a lost person can exhibit great forgiveness yet remain lost!

(John 13:35) “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”  (KJV)

•    Forgiveness is something that is being made fun of and is not being promoted in our society!
•    Our country propagates the doctrine of, “Sue them!”, and, “Why should I forgive them!”
•    It is no wonder to me that we have so little effectiveness in our community with so little forgiveness being shown to it!
•    We should hate sin the way God does, but at the same time love the sinner!
•    May God show us in this sermon that we show God how much we appreciate our forgiveness from Him by the way we forgive others!

Proposition: There are three things about the subject of forgiveness that I want to remind us about!

I.    Notice The Need Of Forgiveness!

A.    Since Adam and Eve sinned, mankind has needed forgiveness!

B.    Every person needs to be forgiven by God and needs to experience forgiveness from fellow man!

C.    Forgiveness is needed in the same proportion to the vileness and darkness of the sin!

D.    Consider some Bible verse that show us the need for forgiveness:

(Genesis 6:5) “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”  (KJV)

(Proverbs 14:34) “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”  (KJV)

(Proverbs 24:9) “The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.”  (KJV)

(Proverbs 30:12) “There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.”  (KJV)

(Isaiah 53:6) “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”  (KJV)

(Isaiah 59:3) “For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.”  (KJV)

(James 1:15) “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”  (KJV)

(James 4:17) “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”  (KJV)

(1 John 3:4) “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”  (KJV)

(1 John 3:8) “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”  (KJV)

(1 John 5:17) “All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.”  (KJV)

(John 8:44) “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”  (KJV)

(Romans 3:10) “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”  (KJV)

(Romans 3:23) “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”  (KJV)

(Romans 6:23) “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  (KJV)

E.    By now you could be convinced of the fact that we all need forgiveness!

II.    Notice The Magnitude Of Forgiveness!

A.    Every stain of sin can be removed!

(Isaiah 1:18) “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”  (KJV)

B.    We can be separated from our sins and its burden!

(Psalms 103:12) “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”  (KJV)

C.    Every sin can be forgiven!

(Proverbs 28:13) “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”  (KJV)

(1 John 1:9) “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  (KJV)

D.    Our sins can be removed from God’s sight!

(Isaiah 38:17) “Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.”  (KJV)

E.    Our sins can be blotted out by the blood of Jesus and His sacrifice! NOT BY BAPTISM, CHURCH MEMBERSHIP, THE LORD’S SUPPER, OR BY DOING GOOD WORKS!

(Colossians 2:13-14) “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;”  (KJV)

(1 Peter 1:18-19) “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”  (KJV)

F.    Our sins are forgiven FREELY – without any merit on our part, FULLY – every offense, and LIBERALLY – many sins, many sins, many sins have been forgiven!

(Exodus 34:7) “Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.”  (KJV)

(Daniel 9:9) “To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;”  (KJV)

(Micah 7:18) “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.”  (KJV)

III.    Notice The Results Of Forgiveness!

A.    We were once lost (unforgiven) now saved (forgiven)!


(Ephesians 2:1-10) “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”  (KJV)

(John 3:16-21) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”  (KJV)

B.    We have been justified!


Romans 3:24 “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:”
Romans 3:28 “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”
 Romans 4:2 “For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.”
 Romans 5:1 ¶ “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”
 Romans 5:9 “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”
Galatians 2:16 “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”

C.    We have been sanctified!

(1 Corinthians 6:9-11)  “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”  (KJV)

D.    We have been given a home in Heaven! (John 14)

E.    We have been given everlasting life!

(John 5:24) “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”  (KJV)

F.    We have been given many more things, but it all comes by being forgiven of our sins!

Conclusion:

To The Sinner:

•    You need forgiveness!
•    You need to repent and believe the gospel before it is too late!

To The Christian:

•    Are you forgiving others the way God has forgiven you?
•    Is there any person whom you are bitter towards? If so, then you have not forgiven them!
•    Unforgiveness is telling others that you are not saved! But you say, “Pastor, I am saved!” Answer, “We should start acting like it!”
•    When you and I do not forgive, then we, in effect, tell God that we

     o    Do not appreciate His forgiveness,
     o    That we do not need forgiveness,
     o    That being like Him in the area of forgiveness is unimportant to us, and
     o    That we do not care about others needing to see forgiveness by way of example!

33748: Jesus Our Lord: 24 Portraits of Christ Throughout Scripture Jesus Our Lord: 24 Portraits of Christ Throughout Scripture

By John Phillips / Kregel Publications

What does “lordship” involve? What does it mean for us? In this companion volume to The View from Mount Calvary John Phillips discusses how biblical events, stories, and prophecies illuminate Jesus’ sovereignty over the world and how it influences our daily lives. Phillips shows how we are never far from encountering the lordship of Christ, no matter where we are in our biblical reading.

John Phillips taught in the Moody Evening School and on the Moody Broadcasting radio network. He is the author of numerous books, including a multivolume expository commentary series. He and his wife, Betty, live in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

101 Ways To Help Your Pastor

Every pastor, regardless of age, years of experience, and size of congregation, needs help from time to time. It is the responsibility of the congregation to meet the needs when they arise. Listed below are 101 ways one can help their pastor in various categories/areas. It is very likely that someone could add to this list. For this reason, we ask that you submit your ideas in the comment section below!

101 Ways To Help Your Pastor
In Prayer By Praying…
-1 For his safety as he travels about.
-2 For his good health – physically.
-3 For his wife.
-4 For his children.
-5 For his personal financial needs.
-6 For his emotional needs – depression, etc.
-7 For his spiritual needs – grace, peace, mercy.
-8 For his personal walk with God – spiritual growth.
-9 For his besetting sins and character flaws.
-10 For his witness – to be faithful to it.
-11 For his witness – boldness.
-12 For power/unction of Holy Ghost on his life and ministry.
-13 For his effectiveness as a leader.
-14 For his effectiveness as a husband.
-15 For his effectiveness as a father.
-16 For him to have many open doors of ministry.
-17 For his open doors to be prolonged and sustained.
-18 That he would be delivered from unreasonable people.
-19 That he would be delivered from wicked people.
-20 That he would be delivered from ensnaring people.
When You Are In Public…
-21 By always promoting his good qualities.
-22 By never involving yourself in gossip about him.
-23 By highlighting the helpful lessons and messages which he has preached recently.
-24 By treating him with highest respect.
-25 By defending him when criticized in a Christ-like way.
When You Are At Church…
-26 By seeking ways to be more involved in church activities.
-27 By seeking ways to possibly take the leadership roles in activities. BE AVAILABLE!
-28 By being faithful to all the public worship services unless Providentially hindered.
-29 By being on time.
-30 By being polite to others.
-31 By keeping church politics to a minimum.
-32 By being willing to give your seat up to others; including visitors.
-33 By picking up any trash on the floors and in the churchyard. Also by straightening things up that are out of place.
-34 By keeping restrooms looking neat and clean.
-35 By turning lights off.
When Your Church Has Business Meetings…
-36 By attending each meeting.
-37 By having a co-operative spirit.
-38 By agreeing to disagree agreeably.
-39 By only offering helpful suggestions.
-40 By not carrying grudges to or from a meeting.
With Church Problems…
-41 By not being one.
-42 By not trying to think FOR the pastor.
-43 By not jumping the gun and thinking the pastor is not doing anything about a particular situation that means a lot to you.
-44 By staying out of the way unless directly involved.
-45 By not gossiping about problems with other church members.
-46 By praying for wisdom to be given to pastor on how to handle the problem(s) at hand.
-47 By praying for the individuals/groups involved to do what is right.
With Enlisting More Laborers…
-48 By being one.
-49 By training others to take your place… if you hold a position.
-50 By praying for more laborers.
When Approaching Him…
-51 By speaking to pastor in the way you want to be spoken to.
-52 By not assuming pastor has been made aware of your specific need or circumstance.
-53 By not demanding an answer to anything.
-54 By not putting him into a corner with no way to come out.
-55 By keeping your questions and problems till after the worship service.
-56 By waiting until there is nobody around for privacy.
-57 By trying to speak with pastor initially in a public area, and not in the office first. – testimony
As A Deacon…
-58 By making visits for him.
-59 By shielding him from unnecessary nonsense.
-60 By praying for him.
-61 By never seeking to undermine in any form or fashion.
-62 By speaking positively of him; especially when around those who are disgruntled.
-63 By being on the lookout for potential issues and ready to help.
Monetarily…
-64 By helping to provide a livable wage as a church member.
-65 By supporting a yearly raise.
-66 By paying (church)  for his gas. – visits, etc.
-67 By providing (church) a retirement package.
-68 By covering health insurance for him and family. (church)
-69 By giving him a love gift at Christmas.
-70 By giving him a birthday present.
-71 By providing a monthly library fund for the purchase of new books. This helps him when developing a series and other studies.
By Being friendly…
-72 Seeking to have him and family over for dinner.
-73 Enjoying recreational activities with him and his family.
-74 Even when you are in a disagreement him.
By Promoting His Ministry…
-75 In an ad in the paper at your own expense.
-76 On the radio in an advertisement, etc.
-77 On facebook. – Fanpage of church/pastor
-78 On twitter.
-79 Giving away CD’s cassette tapes, and DVD’s of his messages to your friends and co-workers.
-80 When sending emails to your friends and acquaintances.
In Sharing The Gospel Of Jesus Christ…
-81 By participating in door to door soul-winning.
-82 By participating in a neighborhood literature distribution campaign.
-83 By helping at tract tables at flea markets and fairs.
-84 By having unsaved friends over for a party and inviting your pastor over to witness to them.
-85 By helping a group who goes street preaching.
-86 By helping in a jail ministry.
-87 By helping in an addiction ministry like Reformers Unanimous.
While He Is Preaching…
-88 By paying attention.
-89 By not talking. This can distract others from hearing the message.
-90 BY TURNING YOUR CELL PHONE OFF!
-91 Try to keep babies quiet. Though unwanted, it is sometimes best to take small babies to a nursery area.
-92 Smile! Sour looks can be discouraging.
-93 Shout “AMEN!” when God speaks to your heart about something the preacher says. This will encourage your pastor while he is preaching.
Behind The Scenes…

-94 By encouraging others to encourage the pastor.
-95 By sending an anonymous gift of a favorite snack, etc
-96 By helping to organize a “Pastor’s Appreciation Day” for him.
-97 By taking care of known projects that he has around his home.
-98 By doing something special for his children.

With His Vehicle…

-99 By being sure his oil is changed regularly.
-100 By providing new tires when necessary.
-101 By possibly helping with a car payment.

Bottom Line…

This list is the tip of the iceberg when it come to ideas to help your pastor. If you have thought of something not mentioned, then please leave it in the comment section below. Thanks for your participation!

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10576: A Pastor & The Pastor"s Wife, Framed Sentiment A Pastor & The Pastor’s Wife, Framed Sentiment

By Larry Howland / Parsons Pen

Measures 15.5″ x 12.5″. Light oak finish frame. Neutral mat. A pastor is a faithful friend/Who has his Father’s flock to tend./He cares for us through trying days,/Retrieves the lamb who sometimes strays./He brings us loving words from God,/Of Moses’ feats with Aaron’s rod,/Of Daniel in the lion’s den,/Of godly women and their men./From parables the Master taught/To understanding what Paul thought./He speaks to us of God’s dear Son,/Of unity, so we’ll be one./When sick or sad he’s always there/To comfort, guide and offer prayer./He’s tender, caring, meek and kind;/The Spirit’s in his heart and mind. And She’s like a fresh and lovely rose/That angels planted, then God chose./He gave her soft and gentle ways/To help us through our trying days./She walks with us through pain and loss/And lives the meaning of the cross./She always thinks of others first/And loves us when we’re at our worst./She has such kind and gentle ways/And builds us up with words of praise./Her tears and prayers and long hours spent/Have helped so many to repent./A confidant with whom to share,/A partner when it comes to prayer,/Two blessings in a Christian’s life/Are pastor and his faithful wife.

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